3 Working with the ADF Skin Editor

This chapter describes the editors that the ADF Skin Editor provides to create ADF skins. Key features of these editors, such as the Selector Tree that you use to browse the selectors that you can configure in an ADF skin, the Properties window that you use to set properties, and how you navigate to an ADF skin that you extend, are also described.

3.1 About the ADF Skin Editor

The ADF Skin Editor is a tool that creates ADF skins for applications built using various releases of Oracle ADF. It provides a number of visual and source editors where you edit the selectors exposed by the ADF Faces framework, preview your changes, and package the final ADF skin into an ADF Library JAR.

Key features of the ADF Skin Editor include the:

ADF Skin Design Editor (design editor) where you can declaratively modify an ADF skin that extends from the Skyros or Fusion Simple families of ADF skin using the provided controls.

ADF Skin Selector Editor (selectors editor) where you can view all of the selectors exposed by the ADF Faces framework in the Selector Tree.

Properties window where you can modify the properties of the selectors that you choose in the Selector Tree.

3.2 Working with the ADF Skin Design Editor

By default, the design editor opens when you create an ADF skin that extends from the Skyros or Fusion Simple families of ADF skin, as described in Section 4.3, "Creating an ADF Skin File." This editor provides a variety of controls to change the most commonly styled parts of applications.

The lower part of the design editor displays a number of sample pages that render a wide variety of the commonly used ADF Faces components, such as buttons, links, and panel accordions. These sample pages refresh to reflect the changes that you make using the various controls in the upper part of the editor. A Preview in Browser icon renders the sample page in a browser when clicked. In Figure 3-1, for example, clicking this icon renders the sample page in Internet Explorer. You can choose to render the sample page in another browser, as described in Section 3.2.1, "How to Change the Browser that Renders the Design Editor's Sample Pages."

The upper part of the design editor displays a variety of tabs that group together controls to modify the selectors for various areas of an application page, such as the branding area, the global area, buttons, links, and menus. Within each tab, user interface controls such as color pickers, input text components and links to invoke dialogs appear. Figure 3-1 shows the General tab in the design editor that appears when you extend an ADF skin from the Skyros ADF skin. This tab renders color pickers that you can invoke when you click the dropdown arrows beside the fields that display the current color values, dropdown lists where you can select different fonts and font size and links to invoke dialogs where you can replace the images that the ADF skin references for status icons, animations and components.

Figure 3-1 ADF Skin Design Editor

Any changes that you make using the controls in the design editor result in the generation of CSS syntax that appears in the source file of the ADF skin. The design editor is useful for changing the commonly styled parts of an application. For example, one click in the Branding Area tab invokes a dialog where you can select a new image to render as the logo in the branding area of your application's page. Consider using the selectors editor, described in Section 3.3, "Working with the ADF Skin Selectors Editor," when you need to go beyond changing the most commonly styled parts.

3.2.1 How to Change the Browser that Renders the Design Editor's Sample Pages

You can change the browser that renders the design editor's sample pages when you click the Preview in Browser icon.

To change the browser that renders the design editor's sample pages:

From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences.

In the Preferences dialog, select the Web Browser and Proxy page.

Choose the browser that you want to use in the Web Browsers list.

Click OK.

3.3 Working with the ADF Skin Selectors Editor

Figure 3-2 shows the selectors editor. Each label number corresponds to a description in the list that follows Figure 3-2. The selectors editor opens by default if the ADF skin that you create extends from a skin family that is not Skyros or Fusion Simple. If your ADF skin extends one of these two skin families, you can access the selectors editor by clicking the Selectors tab.

Figure 3-2 ADF Skin Selectors Editor

The Projects node in the Applications window displays the source files for the ADF skins that you create. It also displays associated configuration and image files. By default, the ADF Skin Editor saves an ADF skin to a directory named skins. You can specify an alternative directory name to store the source files. For more information about creating ADF skins, see Chapter 4, "Creating the Source Files for an ADF Skin."

The Structure window lists the selectors, global selector aliases, style classes, and at-rules that you added to the ADF skin file.

Click the Hide/Show Divider icon to hide or show the Selector Tree.

Filter the selectors that appear in the Selector Tree.

You can enter text in the input text field to filter the list of selectors that appear in the Selector Tree or you can use the filter icon to display:

Available Selectors: all selectors in the Selector Tree.

Updated Selectors: only those selectors that you modified in the ADF skin.

Selectors with At-Rules: only those selectors that have an associated at-rule.

The Extended Skins list displays the list of ADF skins from which the current ADF skin extends. It also identifies imported ADF skins.

Click the Clear Property Settings icon to undo any change that you made to the item selected in the Selector Tree.

Click the Delete Pseudo-Class from Skin File icon to delete any pseudo-classes that you specified in the ADF Skin.

The View as list allows you to preview how changes you make to a global selector alias in the Selector Tree affect the components that reference the global selector alias. The View as list displays all components that reference the global selector alias. The View as list also allows you to preview how changes you make to the properties of one component-specific selector impact all sub-types of that component. For example, Figure 3-3 shows the ADF Data Visualization component selector for the graph component (af|dvt-graph) that exposes a single set of component-specific selectors that apply changes to all graph types. Use the View as list to preview a change that you make to a selector in one of the other types of graph (for example, Bar, Funnel, Pareto, and so on).

3.3.1 About the Selector Tree

The Selector Tree displays a list of the style classes, global selector aliases, and selectors for which you can configure properties to change the appearance of ADF Faces and ADF Data Visualization components.

A style class defines one or more style properties that you can apply to specific instances of a component. The selectors editor categorizes the inherited style classes into style classes defined for general usage, note windows, and popups. For more information, see Chapter 9, "Working with Style Classes."

Global Selector Aliases

A global selector alias defines style properties that you apply to one or more selectors. The selectors editor categorizes the inherited global selector aliases into selector aliases defined for general usage, icons, and messages. For more information, see Chapter 8, "Working With Global Selector Aliases."

Grouped Selectors

Identifies style properties grouped into one declaration to apply to more than one selector. For example, Figure 3-4 shows a grouped selector for the button and link component's selectors.

At-Rules

At-rules are a way to define style properties for when an application's page renders in a particular environment such as, for example, when using a specific browser. For more information, see Chapter 10, "Working with At-Rules."

Faces Component Selector

Selectors identify the ADF Faces components for which you can configure properties. The selectors editor displays subcategories for pseudo-elements, component selector aliases, and descendant selectors. For brevity, the ADF Faces components node is not expanded. For more information, see Chapter 5, "Working with Component-Specific Selectors."

Data Visualizations Component Selectors

Selectors identify the ADF Data Visualization components for which you can configure properties. The selectors editor displays subcategories for pseudo-elements, component selector aliases, and descendant selectors. For more information, see Chapter 5, "Working with Component-Specific Selectors."

Figure 3-4 Selector Tree

3.3.2 Interactive Preview in the Selectors Editor

The preview pane in the selectors editor displays an interactive preview of the component that is currently selected in the Selector Tree. Hover your mouse over this preview to view text that identifies the specific pseudo-element that you need to customize to change the appearance of the component. Clicking on parts of this preview navigates you to the location where you can configure properties to change the appearance of what you have just clicked on. You can also right-click a pseudo-element to invoke a context menu that displays a hierarchical list of the selector pseudo-elements that the current pseudo-element contains, as shown in Figure 3-5.

Figure 3-5 Interactive Preview for the Calendar Component

Clicking an entry in the context menu that appears or clicking a part of the calendar component that uses properties defined in the pseudo-element of another component selector navigates you to that pseudo-element in the Selector Tree. For example, if you click af|button::link in the context menu in Figure 3-5, the component preview navigates you to the location for the button component selector's pseudo-element in the Selector Tree, as shown in Figure 3-6.

Figure 3-6 Button Component's link Pseudo-Element

3.4 Working with the Properties Window

The Properties window serves a number of functions apart from its primary role of allowing you to set values for CSS properties and ADF skin properties for the selectors that the ADF skinning framework exposes. These functions are the ability to:

Invoke a dialog where you can define the colors for properties that support color value.

Figure 3-7 presents an overview of the various controls that the Properties window exposes when you edit an ADF skin.

Figure 3-7 Controls in the Properties Window for ADF Skins

Hover your mouse over the icons that indicate a property associated with an at-rule or a property that inherits its value in order to display an information tip, as shown in Figure 3-8. Clicking the hyperlink in this information tip navigates you to the source file of the ADF skin where the at-rule or inherited property value is defined.

3.5 Navigating ADF Skins

When you create an ADF skin, as described in Section 4.3, "Creating an ADF Skin File," you choose an ADF skin from which to extend. The ADF skin that you choose to extend from defines properties that your newly created ADF skin inherits. When you create your first ADF skin, you must choose one of the ADF skins that Oracle ADF provides.

Subsequent ADF skins that you create can extend an ADF skin that you created or one of the ADF skins provided by Oracle ADF. For example, you create your first ADF skin named skinA that extends the simple ADF skin provided by Oracle ADF. You then create a second ADF skin named skinB. When creating skinB, you have the choice of extending from skinA or from any of the ADF skins provided by Oracle ADF. If you choose to extend skinB from skinA, the inheritance relationship between the ADF skins is illustrated in Figure 3-9.

The Extended Skins list in the selectors editor displays the list of ADF skins that the current ADF skin extends. The list also identifies if any of the ADF skins that your skin extends include imported skins. Figure 3-10 shows the list of ADF skins that appears if you implement the inheritance relationship described in Figure 3-9. You open an extended ADF skin that you want to view by clicking it in the Extended Skins list.

Figure 3-10 Extended Skins List

Note:

You cannot edit the properties of the selectors in the ADF skins provided by Oracle ADF. You can only edit the properties of selectors in extended ADF skins that you created.

Using the Go to Declaration menu that the Properties window exposes, you can navigate to the location in an extended ADF skin where the extended ADF skin declares style properties inherited by other ADF skins. For example, assume that the skinA ADF skin defines a background color of Red for the af|button selector's access-key pseudo-element, as shown in Figure 3-8.

Figure 3-11 Declaration of a Property Value

The skinB ADF skin that extends from skinA ADF skin inherits the property values, as shown in Figure 3-8.

Figure 3-12 Inheriting a Property Value from an Extended Skin

To go to the declaration of a property:

Identify a property in your ADF skin that inherits its values from an extended ADF skin. A blue upward-pointing arrow, as shown in Figure 3-12, identifies these properties.

Click the icon that appears when you hover over the property field to invoke a context menu where you select Go to Declaration, as shown in Figure 3-13.

3.6 Customizing the ADF Skin Editor

You can alter the appearance and functionality of a variety of ADF Skin Editor features.

3.6.1 How to Change the Look and Feel of the ADF Skin Editor

You can alter the appearance of the ADF Skin Editor using pre-defined settings.

To change the look and feel of the ADF Skin Editor:

From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Preferences dialog.

In the Preferences dialog, select the Environment node if it is not already selected.

On the Environment page, select a different look and feel from the Look and Feel list.

Click OK.

Restart the ADF Skin Editor.

Note:

The key bindings in Motif are different from key bindings in Windows. Under Motif, the arrow keys do not change the selection. Instead they change the lead focus cell. You must press Ctrl + Space to select an item. This is expected behavior.

3.6.2 How to Customize the General Environment for the ADF Skin Editor

You can customize the default display options (for example, always display dockable windows on top), as well as other general behavior, such as whether the ADF Skin Editor will automatically reload externally modified files and whether output to the Log window is automatically saved to a file.

To change the general environment settings for the ADF Skin Editor:

From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Preferences dialog.

In the Preferences dialog, select the Environment node if it is not already selected.

On the Environment page, select the options and set the fields as appropriate.

As you type, the cursor jumps to the next instance of the group of letters displayed.

Alternatively, enter the text string in the search box. As you type, the cursor jumps to the next instance of the group of letters displayed. Use the Previous or Next buttons to search up and down the file. Click in the search box to set Match Case, Whole Word, or Highlight Occurrences.

3.8 Working with Extensions

Extensions are components that are loaded and integrated with the ADF Skin Editor after it starts. Extensions can access the editor and perform many useful tasks. You can add existing extensions into the ADF Skin Editor.

This section contains information on finding and installing extensions. The simplest way to find and download extensions is through the Check for Updates wizard.

If you want to create a new extension, you can do so in JDeveloper using the Extension JDK from the Oracle Technology Network web page. You can download the completed extension to the ADF Skin Editor.

Note:

Any time an extension is added or upgraded, the migration dialog appears at startup in case you need to migrate any previous settings related to that extension.

3.8.1 How to Install Extensions with Check for Updates

The easiest way to find and install extensions is to use the Check for Updates wizard.

To install extensions using the Check for Updates wizard:

From the Help menu, select Check for Updates.

Follow the steps in the wizard to browse, download, and install patches and extensions.

3.9 Adding External Tools to the ADF Skin Editor

External tools are custom ADF Skin Editor menu items and toolbar buttons that launch applications installed on your system, applications that are not packaged as part of the ADF Skin Editor.

3.9.1 How to Add External Tools to the ADF Skin Editor

You find and add available external tools to the ADF Skin Editor using the External Tools menu.

To find all external programs that the ADF Skin Editor is preconfigured to support:

From the main menu, choose Tools > External Tools.

In the External Tools dialog, click Find Tools.

To add access to an external program from the ADF Skin Editor:

From the main menu, choose Tools > External Tools.

In the External Tools dialog, click New. Follow the instructions in the wizard.

To change how an external program appears, or remove access to an external program from the ADF Skin Editor:

From the main menu, choose Tools > External Tools.

In the External Tools dialog, click Edit or Delete. If you are editing the options, display, integration or availability of an external tool from the ADF Skin Editor, select the corresponding tab and change the values. Click Help for help choosing valid values.

Click OK. Your changes are reflected immediately.

3.10 Navigating the ADF Skin Editor

You can accomplish any task in the ADF Skin Editor using the keyboard as you use the mouse.

3.10.1 How to Work With Shortcut Keys In the ADF Skin Editor

The ADF Skin Editor comes with several predefined keyboard schemes. You can choose to use one of these, or customize an existing set to suit your own coding style by changing which keyboard shortcuts map to which actions.

To load preset keyboard schemes:

From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences.

In the Preferences dialog, select the Shortcut Keys node. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Preferences dialog.

On the shortcut keys page, click More Actions and then select Load Keyboard Scheme. The Load Keyboard Scheme dialog appears, with the currently loaded keyboard scheme highlighted.

In the Load Keyboard Scheme dialog, select the scheme you wish to load and click OK.

On the Shortcut Keys page, under Available Commands, you can view the complete set of the ADF Skin Editor commands, and what keyboards shortcuts (if any) are assigned to each. If you are looking for a particular command or shortcut, or want to look at shortcuts for a particular category of commands only, enter a filtering expression in the Search field.

You can also define new shortcuts, or change existing ones.

To define a new keyboard shortcut for a command within a given keyboard scheme:

From the main menu, choose Tools > Preferences.

In the Preferences dialog, select the Shortcut Keys node. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the preferences dialog.

On the Shortcut Keys page, under Available Commands, select the command that you wish to define a new shortcut for.

To define a new shortcut for this action, place focus on the New Shortcut field, and then press the key combination on the keyboard.

If this proposed shortcut already has a command associated with it, that command will now appear in the Conflicts field. Any conflicting shortcuts are overwritten when a new shortcut is assigned.

To assign this shortcut to the action selected, click Assign. If you want to delete an already-assigned shortcut, click the Delete button in the toolbar.

If you want to assign more than one shortcut to a command, select the command and click the Duplicate button. Then, type the shortcut key in the New Shortcut field and click Assign.

When you are finished, click OK.

To import or export keyboard schemes:

From the main menu, select Tools > Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.

3.10.2 Keyboard Navigation In the ADF Skin Editor

For any action that can be accomplished with a mouse, including selection, there is a way to accomplish the action solely from the keyboard. You can accomplish any task in the ADF Skin Editor using the keyboard as you can using the mouse.

The shortcut keys defined in the Java Look and Feel guidelines provide the base set for the ADF Skin Editor. The various predefined keyboard schemes available in the ADF Skin Editor are then overlaid upon this base set. If the same shortcut key exists in both the look and feel guidelines and the ADF Skin Editor keyboard scheme, the ADF Skin Editor scheme prevails. If a shortcut key defined by the look and feel guidelines does not appear in the ADF Skin Editor scheme, then it is the original look and feel definition that remains in effect when the scheme in question is enabled.

At any given time, then, the shortcut keys enabled in the ADF Skin Editor depend upon the interaction of the currently enabled scheme with the Java look and feel guidelines. When you first open the ADF Skin Editor, the default scheme is enabled. You can change this scheme whenever you wish, and within each scheme, you can customize any of the shortcut key assignments that you would like. Note that any customized shortcuts you create in a scheme are not retained when another predefined keyboard scheme is activated (or even if the same scheme is reloaded).

To load predefined keyboard schemes, view current shortcut assignments within a scheme, and customize those assignments, you will need to open the preferences dialog. To open the dialog, choose Tools > Preferences (or on the keyboard, press Alt+T+P) from the main menu and then, using the arrow keys in the left-hand pane, navigate to the Shortcut Keys node. For details on working with the dialog, with the page displayed, click Help (or on the keyboard press H).

3.10.2.1 Common Navigation Keys

The following table describes the common methods of moving the cursor in the ADF Skin Editor:

Table 3-1 Common Methods of Moving the Cursor

Key

Cursor Movement

Ctrl+cursor Movement

Left Arrow

Left one unit (e.g., a single character)

Left one proportionally larger unit (e.g., a whole word)

Right Arrow

Right one unit

Right one proportionally larger unit

Up Arrow

Up one unit or line

Up one proportionally larger unit

Down Arrow

Down one unit or line

Down one proportionally larger unit

Home

Beginning of the line

To the beginning of the data (top-most position)

End

End of the line

To the end of the data (bottom-most position)

Tab

Next field or control, except when in a text area or field. In this case, press Ctrl+Tab to navigate out of the control.

Where there are fields and controls ordered horizontally as well as vertically, pressing Tab moves the cursor first horizontally to the right, then at the end of the line, down to the left of the next line.

To the next pane which may be a navigator, an editor, or a window, except when in a text area or field. In this case, press Ctrl+Tab to navigate out of the control

Shift+Tab

Previous field

To previous tab position. In property sheets, this moves the cursor to the next page

Enter

Selects and highlights the default button, except when in a combo box, shuttle button, or similar control.

Up Arrow, Down ArrowThis scrolls the window contents if the focus moves beyond visible area of canvas.

Move left/right (scrollbar)

Up Arrow, Down ArrowThis scrolls the pane contents if focus moves beyond visible area of canvas.

Move to start/end of data (component buttons)

Ctrl+Home, Ctrl+End

Select an element

Enter or Spacebar

Scroll left/right within the canvas area (without moving through the window contents)

Ctrl+Left/Ctrl+Right

Scroll Up/Down within the canvas area (without moving through the window contents)

Ctrl+Up/Ctrl+Down

Menus

Context menus are accessed using Shift+F10. Menus from the main menu bar are accessed using the keyboard shortcut for the menu.

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving the menu bar.

Table 3-12 Keyboard Navigation for Menus

Navigation

Keys

Navigate to menu bar

F10

Navigate out of menu bar

Esc

Navigate between menus in menu bar

Right Arrow, Left Arrow

Navigate to menu item

Up Arrow, Down Arrow

Navigate from menu item

Up Arrow, Down Arrow

Activate item

Enter, Spacebar, or keyboard shortcut (if one has been defined)

Open submenu

Right Arrow

Retract submenu

Left Arrow or Esc

Panels

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving panels.

Table 3-13 Keyboard Navigation for Panels

Navigation

Keys

Navigate in/out forward

Tab

Navigate in/out backward

Shift+Tab

Expand panel (when focus on header)

Right Arrow

Collapse panel (when focus on header)

Left Arrow

Navigate within panel

Up Arrow, Down Arrow

Navigate to panel header from contents (when focus is on top item in list)

Up Arrow

Navigate to panel contents from header (when focus is on header)

Down Arrow

Tables

Arrow keys move focus in the direction of the arrow, except when a web widget has focus; in that case, the down arrow or enter key initiates the widget control action, such as opening a choice list. tab moves the focus right, shift+tab moves the focus left.

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving tables.

Table 3-14 Keyboard Navigation for Tables

Navigation

Keys

Navigate forward in or out of table

Ctrl+Tab

Navigate backward in or out of table

Shift+Ctrl+Tab

Move to next cell (wrap to next row if in last cell)

Tab Arrow or Right Arrow

Move to previous cell (wrap to previous row if in first cell)

Shift+Tab or Left Arrow

Controls in cells open

Down Arrow or Enter

Block move left

Ctrl+Page Up

Block move right

Ctrl+Page Down

Block move up

Page Up

Block move down

Page Down

Move to first cell in row

Home

Move to last cell in row

End

Move to first cell in table

Ctrl+Home

Move to last cell in table

Ctrl+End

Select all cells

Ctrl+A

Deselect current selection (and select alternative)

Any navigation key

Extend selection on row

Shift+Up Arrow

Extend selection one column

Shift+Down Arrow

Extend selection to beginning of row

Shift+Home

Extend selection to end of row

Shift+End

Extend selection to beginning of column

Ctrl+Shift+Home

Extend selection to end of column

Ctrl+Shift+End

Edit cell without overriding current contents, or show dropdown list in combo box

F2

Reset cell content prior to editing

Esc

Tabs

This section refers to the tabs that appear within a dockable window, view or dialog. The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving tabs in dockable windows, views and dialogs.

Table 3-15 Keyboard Navigation for Tabs

Navigation

Keys

Navigate forward into or out of tab control

Tab

Navigate backward into or out of tab control

Ctrl+Tab

Move to tab (within control) left/right

Left Arrow/Right Arrow

Move to tab (within control) above/below

Up Arrow/Down Arrow

Move from tab to page

Ctrl+Down

Move from page to tab

Ctrl+Up

Move from page to previous page (while focus is within page)

Ctrl+Page Up

Move from page to next page (while focus is within page)

Ctrl+Page Down

Trees

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving trees.

Table 3-16 Table Navigation for Trees

Navigation

Keys

Navigate forward into or out of tree control

Tab

Navigate backward into or out of tree control

Shift+Tab

Expand (if item contains children)

Right Arrow

Collapse (if item contains children)

Left Arrow

Move to parent from child (if expanded)

Left Arrow

Move to child from parent (if already expanded)

Right Arrow

Move up/down one item

Up Arrow, Down Arrow

Move to first item

Home

Move to last entry

End

Select all children of selected parent

Ctrl+A

Select next item down in list without deselecting that item that currently has focus

Shift+Down Arrow

Select next item up in list without deselecting that item that currently has focus

Shift+Up Arrow

Select current item and all items up to the top of the list

Shift+Home

Select current item and all items up to the bottom of the list

Shift+End

Select the item with current focus without deselecting other items (to select items that are not adjacent)

Ctrl+Spacebar

Navigate through list without deselecting item with current focus

Ctrl+Up/Down Arrow

Wizards

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving wizards.

The following table describes the keyboard actions to perform navigation tasks involving the canvas areas of graphical editors.

Table 3-23 Keyboard Navigation for Canvas Areas of Graphical Editors

Navigation

Keys

Move to the next focusable element within editor area

Up Arrow, Down Arrow, Left Arrow, Right Arrow

Select element

Spacebar

Activate context menu

Shift+F10

3.11 Working with the Resources Window

The Resources window allows you to create connections to a number of different resources, such as application servers and file systems, from where you can use them in different applications and share them with other users.

When designing and building applications, you may need to find and use many software assets. You may know what you want to find, but you may not be certain where to find it or even what the artifact of interest is called. Even if you think you know where to find the artifact, and what it is called, you might not know how to establish a connection to it.

The Resources window lets you:

Locate resources stored in a wide variety of underlying repositories through IDE connections

By default, the Resources window is displayed to the right of the ADF Skin Editor window.

To refresh the Resources window:

In the Resources window, click New and choose Refresh.

Alternatively, in the Resources Window choose Refresh from the context menu of an object in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel.

3.11.1 Working with IDE Connections

When you create a connection in the ADF Skin Editor, you can create it as an IDE connection that can be reused in different applications, or shared between users, or as application connections.

IDE connections are globally defined connections available for reuse, and they are listed in the IDE Connections panel of the Resources window. You can copy IDE connections to the Applications window to use them within an application.

IDE connections are listed in the IDE Connections panel of the Resources window. In addition, some types of connections may appear in special connection-type windows.

The different types of connections that can be made depends on the technologies and extensions available to you. To see what you can create a connection to, choose IDE Connection from the New button in the Resources window. The specific types of connection you can make depend on the technologies and extensions available to you.

The file system location for Resources connection descriptor definition information is

In the IDE Connections panel of the Resources window, choose IDE Connection from the New button.

Choose the type of connection you want to create, and enter the appropriate information in the Create Connection dialog. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the dialog.

Once you have created a connection in the Resources window, you can edit details of the connection, but you cannot change the connection name.

To edit an IDE connection:

In the IDE Connections panel of the Resources window, choose Properties from the context menu of a connection.

The Edit Connection dialog opens where you can change the connection details. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Edit Connection dialog.

You can use connections in the Resources window in an application.

The connection can be added to the application currently open in the ADF Skin Editor, and it is listed in the Application Resources pane of the Applications window, under the Connections node.

To add a connection to an application:

In the IDE Connections panel of the Resources window, choose Add to Application from the context menu of a connection.

Alternatively, drag the resource from the Resources window and drop it onto an application page.

Alternatively, drag the connection from IDE Connections in the Resources window and drop it onto the Application Resources pane in the Applications window.

3.11.2 How to Search the Resources Window

There are two ways of searching in the Resources window:

Performing a simple search

Performing an advanced search, where you enter parameters in a dialog

In addition, you can define a dynamic folder in a catalog where the content of the folder is defined by a query expression that is executed when the folder is opened.

The time the search takes depends on how many resources there are in the Resources window, and how long it takes to connect to them, and the results are displayed in the Search Results panel.

When you perform a simple search, the search is performed across all the contents of the Resources window, and it may take some time because the ADF Skin Editor connects to remote resources during the search.

To perform a simple search:

In the Resources window, click the Search Options button to choose whether the search is performed against the Name, Type or Description of the resource. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Resources window.

Enter a search string in the field. For example, if you want to find every resource that contains dep in the name, choose Name in Step 1, and enter dep. Every resource that contains the string dep will be listed in the search results.

Click the Start Search button to start the search.

Alternatively, you can perform an advanced search where you specify a series of search criteria, and choose where to start the search from.

To perform an advanced search:

In the Resources window, choose Advanced Search from the context menu of an object in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Advanced Search dialog.

Define where the search starts. Either select from Search in, or click Show Hierarchy which allows you choose within a hierarchical list of the Resources window contents.

Enter search criteria to return the resources you want, and click Search.

You can stop a search before it has completed by clicking the Stop Search button.

You can save a search and reuse it. There are two ways of saving a search in order to reuse it:

As a dynamic folder, where the contents of the folder are created dynamically based on the search criteria when the folder is opened.

As a static folder containing the results of the search.

Dynamic folders can also be created directly in a catalog.

To save a search:

In the Search Results panel of the Resources window, choose Save Search from the context menu.

In the Save Search dialog, choose:

Save Search Criteria, to create a dynamic folder.

Save Search Results, to create a static folder of results.

For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Resources window.

Enter a name for the folder.

Choose the catalog to contain the folder, either from the dropdown list, or from the hierarchical list displayed when you click Show Hierarchy.

3.11.3 Filtering Resources Window Contents

Filters allow you fine-tune the contents of catalog folders.

To filter the contents of My Catalogs:

In the Resources window, choose Filter from the context menu of an object in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Filter dialog.

Enter a string to define the filtering. Only entries in the folder that contain the string will be shown.

3.11.4 Importing and Exporting Catalogs and Connections

Catalogs and connections are shared by importing Resource catalog archive (.rcx) files that have been exported by another user.

To export a catalog:

Note:

When you select a catalog to export, any connections in the catalog are also selected. If you deselect the catalog before exporting, you must be sure to also deselect the connections that are not wanted in the archive file.

In the Resources window, choose Export from the context menu of an object in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel.

In the Export Catalog and Connections dialog, select the catalogs and connections to be exported, and decide how errors will be handled. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Export Catalog and Connections dialog.

To import a catalog:

In the Resources window, choose Import from (New).

In the Import Catalog and Connections dialog, specify or browse to the path and name of the Resource catalog archive file (.rcx). For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Import Catalog and Connections dialog.

Choose the catalogs and connections you want to import, and determine how to handle errors.

3.11.5 Working with Resources Window Catalogs

A catalog is a user-defined construct for organizing resources from multiple underlying repositories. The contents of a catalog and its associated folder structure can be designed to be used by an individual developer, or they can be targeted towards specific groups of users such as the UI designers for a development project.

Catalog folders organize resources in a catalog. You use catalog folders in the same way you would to organize files in a file system or bookmarks in a Web browser. Each catalog folder can contain any combination of:

Folders.

Dynamic folders, which are populated using a query.

Filters, which are used to fine-tune the content of a folder or subtree.

3.11.5.1 Creating Catalogs

You can organize the information in the Resources window in catalogs.

To create a catalog:

In the Resources window, choose New Catalog from the New button.

In the Create Catalog dialog, specify a name for the catalog. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Create Catalog dialog.

(Optional) Provide a description for the catalog, and the email of the catalog administrator.

3.11.5.2 Renaming Catalogs

You can rename catalogs.

To rename a catalog:

In the Resources window, right-click the catalog, and choose Rename from the context menu.

In the Rename dialog, specify a new name for the catalog. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Rename dialog.

3.11.6 Working with Catalog Folders

You can create folders to organize the contents of catalogs.

3.11.6.1 How to Create Folders

You can organize the information within catalogs in folders.

To create a catalog folder:

In the Resources window, choose New Folder from the context menu of a catalog in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Create Folder dialog.

Enter a name for the folder.

3.11.6.2 How to Create Dynamic Folders

Dynamic Folders provide a powerful way to dynamically populate a catalog folder with resources. The content of the folder is defined by a query expression that is executed when the folder is opened. The results of the query appear as the contents of the folder.

To create a dynamic folder:

In the Resources window, choose New Dynamic Folder from the context menu of a catalog in the My Catalogs panel or the IDE Connections panel. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Create Dynamic Folder dialog.

Define the search criteria that will be used to populate this folder when it is opened.

3.11.6.3 How to Add Resources to a Catalog

You can add a connection from the IDE Connections panel or a resource from the Search panel in the Resources window to a catalog in My Catalogs.

To add a resource to a catalog:

In the Resources window, right click a connection in the IDE Connections panel, or the result of a search in the Search panel and choose Add to Catalog from the context menu.

The Add to Catalog dialog opens for you to specify the name for the resource in the catalog, and the catalog to add it to. For more information at any time, press F1 or click Help from within the Create Connection dialog.

Alternatively, you can drag an item from under IDE Connections and drop it on a catalog or catalog folder.

You can reorganize a catalog by selecting an item or folder in the catalog and dragging it to another folder in the same catalog, or to another catalog.

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